Crusty Rusty Leaky Squeaky 67 Step

[Vic1947]

The pinchweld flange now lays flat along the entire edge of the floor instead of kicking up on each side as it approached the curve of the tunnel. After some additional work with the dolly, the firewall lip now fits very close to the lip of the floor in the tunnel area. With all the flanges fitting nicely between the frame supports, I went ahead and stitched up the cuts with some spotwelds. When the time comes, I'll weld the full length around the tunnel and spot weld the rest of the pinchweld flanges. I should have plenty of clearance over the top of the transmission case by making the firewall fit the floor.

Before I can permanently attach the floor and firewall, I need to weld in the vent covers in the kick panels. They had been gutted previously and since I'll be running a Vintage Air setup, I'll just block them off.

[mcbassin]

Very nice work on the floor Vic! Looks like you have massaged it into shape. Keep the pictures coming.

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by mcbassin

Very nice work on the floor Vic! Looks like you have massaged it into shape. Keep the pictures coming.

Will do, Mike, thanks and Merry Christmas to you and all my other forum friends!

[jlsanborn]

Looks great! Well thought out and executed!

[Vic1947]

Made some progress on the vent areas today. Tack welded in a patch on the passenger side, but needed something a bit more exotic on the driver side. The plan is to re-route the wiring that normally exits out of the firewall near the brake m/c. I'm mounting the fuse panel right over the vent opening which will allow the frontend wiring to exit thru the vent and then out thru a hole hidden by the front fender. The removable panel will seal against some rubber weatherstrip. The wiring bundle for the headlights, fan, park lamps, etc. will be tucked up under the fender and inside the core support. Should make for a nice clean look that's impossible to service later on.

With the vents under control, I reinstalled the floor and firewall, clamped them together and welded out the alignment slits. Took a break from grinding to do this post. However, once the grinding is done, it all comes apart again so I can treat the underside of the dash with GEM Rust Killer and then spray a coat of epoxy primer.
.

[sduckworth13]

Looks great Vic, I like how your mounting and routing the wiring harness.

[Low Elco]

Looks great, Vic! Slick work on the harness. I'm vote #2 on the painted to match centers.

[jlsanborn]

Man that's looking good! It's funny, me sitting here turning my head trying to figger out what I'm looking at then it's suddenly like I found Waldo - Ahhh that's the cab without the firewall! Are you planning a cover for the fuse panel? Sounds like you've got a great plan for routing the wires!

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by Low Elco

Looks great, Vic! Slick work on the harness. I'm vote #2 on the painted to match centers.

Couple of buddies from Sedville came up yesterday to see the progress and the vote for the painted centers is unanimous …so we will make it so. Charlie had a phone photo of his 18" kidney beans with painted centers that sealed the deal.

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by jlsanborn

Man that's looking good! It's funny, me sitting here turning my head trying to figger out what I'm looking at then it's suddenly like I found Waldo - Ahhh that's the cab without the firewall! Are you planning a cover for the fuse panel? Sounds like you've got a great plan for routing the wires!

Yeah, sometimes the angle of the shot doesn't match the real world orientation. Since posting that photo, I've rotated the fuse box 90 degrees which tucks it up much better and should completely hide it from view. I'll only build a cover if it ends up being visible.

[Vic1947]

Today has been tiny patch day. The corners where the windshield gasket goes had some tin worm, so I opened up the areas and made a couple of small patches and welded them in. The entire pinch weld was gone, so there's both inside and outside patches.

[Low Elco]

Now, that's slick.

[mcbassin]

Very nice metal work!

[snipescastle2]

Vic,
Great Work! I finally got my drivers side rust repair done, now working the passenger side, although it wasn't nearly as bad as the drivers side. I too, had to do some windshield area repairs, found those areas once I welded in my A/C dash to the original dash metal. I am contemplating filling the speaker louvers in the center, better to do that now I guess. I'm also thinking of blocking off those side vents, probably use the space for kick panel speakers.
Keep up the great work!
Ben Smith

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by snipescastle2

Vic,
Great Work! I finally got my drivers side rust repair done, now working the passenger side, although it wasn't nearly as bad as the drivers side. I too, had to do some windshield area repairs, found those areas once I welded in my A/C dash to the original dash metal. I am contemplating filling the speaker louvers in the center, better to do that now I guess. I'm also thinking of blocking off those side vents, probably use the space for kick panel speakers.
Keep up the great work!
Ben Smith

Thanks, Ben. You're right, with the windshield out, now's the time for mods like smoothing the speaker grille. I bought a set of the molded in kick panel speakers for the silver truck. The sound quality was not anything to write home about. I wished later that I'd invested in some nice surface mounted ones. By blocking off the vents, you end up with a lot more usable space to mount larger speakers and not have them in the way of your feet.

[jlsanborn]

Again, you make it look sooo easy! Well done!

[Xeen]

The cab is looking great Vic.
Whats the projected eta on the completion of all the cab work?

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by Xeen

The cab is looking great Vic.
Whats the projected eta on the completion of all the cab work?

Thanks, Brian. I figure I have at least another 3-4 weeks of work on it. The floor and firewall are all fitted up and ready to weld in, but I need to epoxy primer the area under the dash before doing so. A bit too cold for that right now. Then, it will still need replacement kick panels, lower door pillars, rocker panels and cab corners. At that point, it will be ready for bodywork. However, I plan to start on the bed shortening project before slinging any mud. Maybe by the time all the tinwork is done, spring will be around the corner. I much prefer to do bodywork with the doors open to cut down on the mess.

[Vic1947]

We just got back into town from our second trip in a month to Houston. My buds at Cryotech Precision Machine asked me to help configure a new computer system for their shop when we visited them in December. Delivered four networked boxes to them and setup all their software this past week. While I was down there, they graciously CNC'd the flats on my center caps. All that remains is to drill and tap the holes for the set screws and get the caps anodized. Then if the weather will cooperate, maybe I can get the wheels painted and the tires back on.

[bguild]

Those caps turned out great!

[sduckworth13]

Very clean work Vic.

[jlsanborn]

Sharp! What color anodize?

[rich67]

vic what kinda of primer and paint did you use on your frame?

[Low Elco]

Caps look great! Shoulda had them engraved with the CRLS logo while you were playin' with the fancy fancy! Can't wait to see how the wheels turn out.

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by jlsanborn

Sharp! What color anodize?

I was thinking I'd have them clear anodized to more or less match the rims. Alternatively, I could glass bead and clear coat them for an even closer match. The clear coat would be less expensive but not quite as durable. Plus, I'm not sure I want to obliterate the machined finish. Decisions, decisions...